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Dec. 10, 2025, 6:22 p.m.
Kilia received a sign at the Ukrainian Antarctic Vernadsky station
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PHOTO: suspilne.media
A sign with the name Kilia has appeared at the Ukrainian Antarctic station Akademik Vernadsky. The initiator was a local resident, Tetiana Havrylenko, who has been persistently seeking the realization of her idea for more than a year.
This was reported by Suspilne.
The woman said that she thought about installing the sign after she learned about the appearance of a sign with the name Izmail. She has long followed the activities of Ukrainian polar explorers and decided that Kilia should also be represented among the symbols of Ukraine at the station. Tetiana wrote to the team of the Vernadsky Antarctic Station and asked what was needed to make her initiative a reality.
Later, the station, together with a Ukrainian publishing house, announced an online lesson for children, and Havrylenko again reminded them of Kilia, suggesting that local youth be involved in the lessons. She is convinced that this can inspire children, and perhaps even determine their future path in science.
"I've learned that we need to speak up for our ideas, because dreams must come true," Havrylenko emphasized.
After sharing her post on social media, she received a link from her friends to a story about Andrii Starish, a ship captain from Kilia. She wrote to him, and he immediately supported the idea. He explained why a sign with the name Izmail was installed at the station last year and helped prepare a new one, from the inscription to the transliteration. The sign was painted in the colors of the national flag.
Preparation and installation took about a month, and it took a year from the first idea to installation. Finally, the initiative was delayed by the weather conditions in Antarctica.
Last year, a photo exhibition about the life and work of Ukrainian polar explorers was presented in Mykolaiv. The exposition consisted of 27 photographs showing the beauty of the Antarctic landscapes and the everyday life of the members of the Ukrainian polar mission.
Separate stands told about how the Russian aggression affected the activities of the Ukrainian Antarctic program, as well as about the so-called "fighting penguins" - polar explorers who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the invasion began.
